Sayonara, Flame Striker!
by ShuuyaLover
Summary: A decision must be made. Between Inazuma Japan and his future, only one can be chosen. What will be Goenji's decision? Will he still fight alongside Inazuma Japan, or will he make his solo debut?
1. Chapter 1

**Sayonara, Flame Striker!**

_A decision must be made. Between Inazuma Japan and his future, only one can be chosen. What will be Goenji's decision? Will he still fight alongside Inazuma Japan, or will he make his solo debut?_

Chapter 1 : The News

* * *

That evening was sunny and dry. The clouds prevented some of the sunlight from shining on the surface of Earth. Thus, it was a perfect day for practice. Sure, it was Sunday and it was best if they have a day off. They had just won FFI a month ago, but since then they had no breaks at all. However, the players of Inazuma Japan were enthusiastic with any practice they can get.

Especially one boy named Endou Mamoru.

The young captain clasped his gloved-hands together and built his defend stance. A genuine smile plastered on his face as he watched his teammates' numerous, funny attempts to steal the ball from their resident ace striker. So far, all of them were futile.

He held out his laugh when he saw the irritation that was as clear as a crystal that appeared on Someoka, Toramaru and Hiroto's faces. They had been attacking the platinum-blonde to get the ball, but Goenji smoothly passed by the three forwards. Only Fubuki seemed to be able to give him a challenge. Goenji took a longer time to release himself from the ice striker's guard.

Endou nodded in approval when Goenji finally passed from Fubuki and made his way towards the goal with a satisfied smirk on his face. He kicked the ball in the air to avoid Kogure's Senpuujin and Hijikata's Super Shikofumi. "Oh, shit!" Kogure cursed under his breath as he watched Goenji up in the air, launching Fire Tornado Kai towards the goal.

"Fire Tornado!"

As the shoot made its way to the goal in an unbelievable speed and power, Endou put on his soccer grin and said, "Not so fast, Goenji! Fist of Justice!" And the giant fist met the shoot and caused great friction from it. Goenji landed safely on the ground on one knee. He lifted his chin to see whether the captain's hissatsu can stand against his.

Everyone gasped when they saw a few lines of red cracks formed on the golden fist. In a flash, the fist was shattered like a brittle glass and the ball goes in. The force of the collision between the two hissatsu had pushed Endou to the ground. The goalkeeper winced and rubbed his hurting head.

At once, Kidou and Goenji went to Endou's side. With a somewhat teasing smirk on his face, Kidou held out a hand to help him get up. "Seems like our flame striker here gets the better of you." He stated in an 'I-knew-this-would-have-happened' tone. It was the truth. Although Football Frontier International had ended, none of them were lacking any practice. But for some reason, Goenji trained the hardest and longest. Fire Tornado Kai was one of the fruits of labour that had been achieved.

Endou pouted at him. "Well, I did what I could too, you know! So, don't tease me like that." He whined as he examined the bottom of his shorts and dusted the ground dust off. Kidou raised an eyebrow while Goenji smiled knowingly. After Endou had finished dusting his shorts, he held out a hand to Goenji. Although it was not visible to anyone, but it didn't go unnoticed by the two friends that were the closest to him.

"You've improved. A lot. And as your friend, I'm proud of you and look forward to your hissatsus, as always."

Goenji stared at the hand for a brief moment and looked pointedly at Endou. A frown appeared on him as Endou asked naively, "What?"

The flame striker shook his head while Kidou stared at his captain with wide eyes. "Are you kidding? Take off your gloves first! They're dirty!" True enough, the pair of gloves worn out with the cuts and the red and green colour of them turned into blackish yellow.

If he were to tell anyone this oblivious to hygiene Endou Mamoru was the very one who led Raimon Eleven to Football Frontier and Inazuma Japan to Football Frontier International, they'd call him a liar!

"Oh." Endou realized what Kidou meant. He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, I was hoping you won't mind. Guess I was wrong." Goenji's eyes widened in surprise, his lips slight parted although no words came out of it. "Y-You!" Kidou's index finger was pointed right in front of Endou's face. The captain grinned cheekily.

Roars of laughter erupted from everyone.

* * *

Right tight.

Left tight.

Right tight again.

And now, Goenji let the black and white ball landed on a spot between his foot and leg. The ball was unbalanced, moving from left to right...or right to left. The teenager let out a sigh of disappointment before he kicked the ball straight into the sky and kicked it into the goal.

Around two weeks after Football Frontier International ended with them came out as champion, Goenji thought of a new hissatsu. Theoretically, strikes of fire will formed from left and right as heat shield and he will kick the ball straight into the air and a ninety-degree shot will score into the goal with full power. But to complete it, he had to solve two major problems.

First, balance of the ball. It is vital for him to fully control the balance of the ball. Especially if he needs to perform a ninety-degree shot. If he failed to do so, he couldn't transfer full power into the ball.

Second, the elasticity of his body. Better yet,

Unsatisfied by his twenty-second try, Goenji huffed slightly and grabbed another ball. The grip on the ball became tighter than before. He knew he should have gotten rid of his ego and asks for Kidou and Endou's help with this problem. But no, he didn't. Men from Goenji family have long been known for their preference to keep things to themselves and being too proud.

The closest example of the negative traits is his father.

"Alright." He decided in determination. "Let's do this again."

Unknown to him, two men were watching him from the bridge near the riverbank. A shiny, black limousine was parked on the road. Four members of SP Fixers were standing on guard, carefully observing the surrounding in case if anything goes wrong.

Prime Minister of Japan, Zaizen Sosuke stood steadily with his right hand tucked inside the pocket. The serious and formal expression he wore was just to cover his concern over a particular important matter. His eyes were those belong to a hawk, trailing Goenji's movements.

Totally opposite of him, Levin Murdoch was much more relaxed. The middle-aged man had both of his arms on the metal rail as he leaned over to get a better view of the teenager who was currently practicing alone in the field.

A friendly chuckle escaped the ex-striker's lips, catching the attention of the politician. Zaizen titled his head to a side. "Mr. Murdoch? Did something amuse you?" Hearing Zaizen's question, he averted his eyes from Goenji, who was kicking the ball straight into the net, and gave a small smile.

"Not something. Rather someone."

A few moments passed as they watch Goenji's attempts to balance the ball. Levin shook his head and chuckled lightly. "He needs to understand the basic rather than practicing head-on like this. But seeing how much he improves in just a few tryouts, he's a talented one." He nodded in Goenji's direction in approval. "I believe I had made the right decision."

Their eyes met for a long time, as if testing each other's determination. None of them seemed willing to give in by breaking the eye contact. The bodyguards exchanged looks from each other. One of them shrugged his shoulders. "Why him? Why did you choose him?" Zaizen's question broke the intense silence between them.

The foreigner didn't answer right away. He seemed to be collecting himself before he decided to answer. His gaze was turned aside to the form of the teenager who was still practicing. Zaizen patiently waited for the latter to answer the question that's been bugging his mind for awhile.

"Once, I was called 'father' by a son."

Zaizen was startled. "Son? You have a son?" He had never heard of this. All he knew, Levin Murdoch had no wife or children.

A nod from Levin confirmed Zaizen's suspicion. His gaze was lowered to the ground. The politician noticed his body shuddering. "All through the FFI, whenever I commented on matches Inazuma Japan was in, I couldn't take my eyes off Goenji Shuuya. He reminded me too much of Alex."

"So his name's Alex." Zaizen murmured to himself.

Turning around, Levin spread his hands on the metal rail, eyes on Goenji. He continued his story. "Alex worshipped the element of fire as his hissatsus' element. He took soccer more seriously than anyone else. He wished to follow my footsteps and surpassed me. As a father, I was proud of him. So, I started training him when he reached the age of three."

Levin inhaled sharply. "Until that incident happened." Instinct told Zaizen that the incident was bad. Levin's hands balled into fists. His face grimaced. "He was killed by his own element."

Zaizen let out a gasp. "By his own element? How did that happened?"

"There's a say that one who choose fire as his element must learn to have full control of it. Or one day, the fire will take the life of its master."

"So it's true?"

"Alex's death proved it. He was burned severely." He raised his shaking hands in front of his face. "I took fire element too, but I was too stunned to do anything. I stood there like a log, watching my son being burned alive. For years, I couldn't get rid of this guilt that's been eating me from the inside."

Closing their distance, Zaizen gave a pat on his back. "I'm sorry about that." He said, almost whispering. Levin shook his head and exhaled slowly. "I lived my days like that...until I met Goenji. When he was playing in the field, I couldn't help but fear that he might end up just like Alex. I wanted to save him, help him. I will do whatever I can so that he wouldn't face the same fate that Alex had."

The determination in his voice made Zaizen felt he had made the right decision. "Alright. But if he says no, then it's a no. Should he agree, he'll be your responsibility. Is that acceptable?"

Levin nodded his head. "Yes, I understand. Thank you."

* * *

"We're going now! Bye-bye, Fuku-san!" Six year-old Goenji Yuuka waved to the old maid with a cheerful grin on her face. She wore her bright, red schoolbag on her back. A cute panda keychain that her older brother gave to her was attached to one of the zippers, making a chiming sound when the bells collided.

Fuku waved to the young mistress back. "Be careful on your way to school!" She reminded her softly. It was the usual reminder that she said every time Yuuka's going to school, but she knew that Yuuka will do her best to stay out of trouble.

Yuuka nodded eagerly. "I will, don't worry!" Turning to her older brother who was sitting on the wooden floor, she embraced him from behind. "Nii-chan! Hurry up! I promised Kana-chan I'll help her feed the school's rabbits!" Goenji smile at his little sister's whine. "Hold your horses, Yuuka. The rabbits wouldn't be going anywhere. Hey, what did I tell you about patience?" Leaning down a little, he carefully ties up his shoelaces.

A pout graced the little girl lips before she muttered, "Patience is a virtue."

Goenji nodded in approval and patted her head. "That's my little sister." His praise made a pink blush spread on Yuuka's happy face. He stood up, grabbed his bag over his left shoulder and held Yuuka's hand with his right. "We'll be going now. See you at dinner, Fuku." After he received a small bow from the maid, Goenji opened the door, let Yuuka step out first before he did and closed the door shut.

"So, what are you going to feed the rabbits?" Goenji asked her as he held her left hand.

Glancing up to her brother, she replied innocently. "Chicken."

Goenji almost dropped his bag.

Yuuka's amused giggles filled the spaces between them.

After he had dropped Yuuka off safely at her elementary school, Goenji made his way to the riverbank to meet up with his friends. As usual, they'll be practicing and hang out together. But right now, they were appreciating the time that they had left with each other before moving on their own path.

Fubuki, Tsunami, Hijikata, Tachimukai, and Kogure will return to where they came from respectively.

Natsumi will be studying abroad at Australia.

Kidou and Hiroto will be entering private science and technology school at somewhere near Niigata.

Endou and Toramaru are going to participate in a special soccer programme that Ministry of Sports invited them to.

All of them will be separated until the next Football Frontier International Tournament takes place. Sure, they can always contact each other via phone call, Twitter, Facebook, Skype, etc., but it wasn't the same. They were so used to be able to see each other whenever they want.

But they had to accept that this is one of the difficult processes of growing up.

He knew he should be happy for Endou and Toramaru. They were dearly excited when they received the letter of invitation from the Ministry of Sports regarding the soccer-related programme. But he couldn't help but be a little bit jealous.

Okay, it's not little. He's quite jealous.

He wished he get that invitation too. Well, who wouldn't? The jealously was nowhere near hurtful to his friends' assumption that he should get the invitation if Endou and Toramaru did. He's the ace striker of Raimon Eleven and Inazuma Japan, for Kami's sake! Now, that's the same as adding salt to an opened injury. But that was two weeks ago, and Goenji had gotten over it.

He winched a bit when a few people passed by him and one of them had his shoulder collided with his own. They seemed to be rather in a hurry. Scowling, Goenji turned around to see what the commotion was about. "What the..." Goenji blinked in surprise.

From the matrix card that was hanging around their neck, expensive cameras in hand and a notebook on the other hand, and not to mention the ball pen tucked behind their ears or in their front pocket, Goenji realized that they were paparazzi.

He laughed nervously. "I hope whoever they were chasing will be safe from them." He said sympathetically and was about to leave when he heard a rather familiar name.

"What brings you to Japan, Mr. Levin Murdoch?"

Alright, surprise was an understatement. He could barely see the face of the poor man who was cornered by the taunting paparazzi. Goenji knew it wasn't his business and they are not even related, but as a fellow soccer player, maybe he could lend a hand to the middle-aged man.

Goenji still remembered the time when they had returned to Japan after their victory in Liocott Island. The nasty paparazzi were everywhere! Snapping photos, unthinkable questions and the greedy faces showing hunger for juicy scandals...

Without a second thought, Goenji pulled his hood to hide his hair. His hair was rather unique for a Japanese, thus, it's a dead giveaway to people of his identity. He knew it was cliché, but he can't come up with any other brilliant idea to save Levin. He's not Kidou or Fudou or Hiroto.

"Hey! I saw a giant UFO crash-landed behind that hill!" Goenji yelled in an attempt to catch the paparazzi's attention and pointed to a nearby hill. His inner self laughed evilly when the paparazzi turned away from Levin and left to the said hill, leaving a trail of dust.

Chance!

Goenji ran to Levin and grabbed his hand. Levin was about to thank him when he saw the face under the hood. "Y-You..." Goenji smirked. "Save your words. We ought to run to safety before those paparazzi realized there were no UFOs around!" A grin somewhat similar to Endou's appeared on Levin's face. "You're right, let's go!"

"Mr. Murdoch! Wait! We have questions that we wanna ask you!"

The paparazzi were back quicker than they expected. Goenji grunted at this and gestured the ex-MVP to follow him. Levin nodded and they ran through the busy crowd. Some of the people in crowd yelped in surprise when they barged through them. Others were yelling at them angrily.

At times, they turned behind to check the distance between them and the group of paparazzi. "Damn it! They're catching up to us really fast!" Goenji swore under his breath. A nervous laugh was heard from Levin.

"Hey! Watch it!" A middle-aged woman scolded them as she nearly dropped her grocery bags full of fruits and ingredients.

A large, muscled man was caught by surprise when Levin ran in front of him. "Why you! Stop right there and fight me, you coward!"

Goenji ran into a young woman and accidentally pushed her to a wooden table outside a cafe. "I-I'm so sorry!" He apologized and offered his hand to help her to get up. A tearing sound caught both of them by surprise. Her red skirt had been torn by a pointed nail and revealed her creamy white tights and pink underwear. "Kyaa!" She shrieked and pushed Goenji away from her. She desperately covered herself while the men nearby enjoyed the view and whistled at her.

A mother covered her son's eyes and glared at Goeenji. "You should be ashamed of yourself, young man!" A blush crept over his face and neck. "B-But I didn't-" he stammered, but Levin poked him at the shoulder and turned him around. "What's more important, an apology or your life?" Watching the lunatic paparazzi chasing after them made Goenji gulp nervously. "My life." He managed to whisper before they continued frantically running away.

Goenji noticed there was a dark, secluded ally between the old buildings. He entered the ally, followed by Levin. They leaned over the wall and held their breath. The paparazzi lingered around to find any clues of their whereabouts. Some of them cursed before all of them left.

"I guess we're safe now." Goenji announced when he peered over the wall and saw no sign of paparazzi. Hearing that, Levin let out a sigh of relieve and slumped down. Tucking inside his bag, Goenji took a face towel and a mineral bottle. "Here." A hand reached out to take the towel and bottle. "Thanks." Levin smiled at him. "The paparazzi's question."

"Huh?" Confusion overwhelmed the ace striker of Inazuma Japan.

Levin stared into his eyes, his face grimaced. "I came here to meet you."

A heavy silence was in the air.

"What?"

Levin stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You have practice tomorrow, right? I'll pick you up once your practice finish, and then we'll have to talk. Is that alright with you?" From the tone of his voice, Goenji knew he was choosing the words carefully.

"Yea, sure." Honestly, Goenji didn't know what to say anymore.

* * *

Someoka Ryuugo was getting impatient. Occasionally, he would check the time on his watch and observe the surrounding, searching for any sign of a certain flame striker, or his hair. Beside him, Kidou let out an umpteenth sigh.

"Where the hell is he? He's late!" Someoka growled and stood up. He started to walk around with his hands crossed, like a disciplinary teacher seeking over for any student's faults. All strikers-himself, Goenji, Sakuma, Hiroto, Fubuki and Toramaru had decided to have a one-on-one match today to decide once and for all which one of them is the best striker. The acting judges are Endou (cause he's the captain), Kidou (for having the best brain out of all of them combined), Terumi (actually, he decided that he should be a judge all by himself cause he's GOD!), Fudou (for being another genius like Kidou), Tachimukai (as the second goalkeeper of Inazuma Japan, he reserved the right to) and Saginuma (another competent goalkeeper during pre-invasion of Aliea Academy).

They received quite a large spectators consisting of Raimon Soccer Club, teams of Aliea Academy (Gemini Storm, Epsilon, Genesis, Prominence and Diamond Dust), Teikoku, Kidokawa Seishuu, Zeus Academy, fan girls and the children that used to train with Endou at the riverbank. The first match between Sakuma and Fubuki had ended, with Fubuki came out as the victor. Hiroto and Toramaru's match was too intense that the judges decided that it ends with a draw.

Although at first, Endou urged them to continue fighting, Terumi whines of how better he is than Hiroto and Toramaru, Tachimukai fell asleep with Kogure scribbling on his face and Fudou found the romance novel that Haruna brought was more interesting than the match. One of his hands was pressed against Haruna's forehead, stopping her from trying to get her novel.

The match continues until Saginuma snapped and threaten to slam Hiroto and Toramaru's head together. Kidou, sensing the murderous intent, ended the match with a draw. Not before smacking Fudou on the head and gave the novel back to his teary-eyed sister.

"Sorry I'm late."

Goenji finally showed up, panting and sweating. Endou, Kidou, Toramaru and Someoka hurried to him. "Goenji, you okay?" Kidou asked in concern, holding a clean towel to the striker. Goenji nodded his head and muttered thanks. "What happened to you, man?" Someoka asked nonchalantly, his hands was on his waist. "We have a freakin' match today! Or have you forgotten about that?"

Endou held Someoka back when the striker wanted to come near Goenji. "Cool down, Someoka. I'm sure he has a valid reason. Right, Goenji?" He turned to his best friend, who didn't bother to answer. The towel was hanging on his neck, drinking bottle was grasped tightly. The captain knew something was off with his best friend. After a few seconds of silence, Goenji got rid of the towel from his neck, placed the bottle on the bench he was sitting on and started warming up. Toramaru stood dumbfounded for a second, before he said "I'll help you warm-up, Goenji-san!" and rushed over to help his idol (?).

Someoka took it as a sign to prepare himself for their match and do his warm-up. He took a spot further from Goenji. Fubuki followed him merrily and offered to help him warm-up. The spectators were noisy as they talked about who will win the match. Endou and Kidou returned to the judges table.

Once they were seated, Kidou started a conversation between them. "You notice it too, right, Endou?" Kidou lowered his voice so that no one would hear him. Endou nodded his head and they turned their attention to Goenji. Toramaru was helping him stretching his body. Toramaru's lips were moving, which means he was talking, but Goenji's were not. It seemed Toramaru was talking to him, but Goenji didn't reply.

"Maybe his mind was somewhere else." Kidou suggested, and chuckled lightly when he saw Toramaru's lips twitched into a small pout. Nodding his head, Endou stated in a serious voice, "Something's bothering his mind."

The match was a breeze victory for Goenji. With the speed of a heartbeat, he managed to pass through Someoka and scored a few goals. When it  
was his turn to defend, he wouldn't let Someoka escaped from him. His movements were more aggressive too, the others noticed. In ten minutes that was agreed on and five goals for Goenji, he won against Someoka, who scored no goals.

Fubuki won in his match against Toramaru, 3 goals to 1. Toramaru sighed in defeat, he had lost, yes, but he had given his all and he didn't regret it. Fubuki was more experienced in soccer than him and he's talented in defending, so the ice striker had advantages. Hiroto and Goenji almost reached their time limit with no goals, until Goenji lost his cool and kicked the ball straight into the goal across the field without using any hissatsu. His friends' jaws dropped in surprise while Goenji realized that he was a bit out of line. "Sorry," He apologized to Hiroto and went to take a break before the final match.

"I think he's confused." Endou suddenly said. A frown appeared on his forehead as his eyes trailed Goenji's movements. The flame striker opened the cap of the bottle that Aki handed to him and poured it all over his head. Aki yelped and frantically searched for a towel. Shrugging his shoulders, Kidou replied shortly, "Maybe." Fudou listened to the conversation half-heartedly.

"And now, the moment we've been waiting for!" Tsunami, the acting commenter, had his left leg stood on the table like a rock star. On his left, Touko was shaking angrily, but she held back. Her view was blocked by Tsunami's leg.

"The final match to decide the best striker of Inazuma Japan! From the blue side, we have Fubuki Shirou!" He announced and the spotlight (courtesy of Kogure, Kurimatsu and Shishido) was turned to Fubuki. The ice striker blinked innocently and scratched the back of his head. Tsunami left his seat, much to Touko's relieve, and stood beside Fubuki. He slapped on his back in a friendly manner.

"Fubuki Shirou, known as Legendary Striker, Prince of Snowfield ("Prince?" Endou coughed on his sweets), Fubuki the Blizzard (Kazemaru sighed) and The Bear Killer! (everyone cringed at the memory) Famous among girls! (loud screamings of 'kyaa~!' from a few girls who were watching from the spectators seat) So, how do you feel to make it into the finals?" Tsunami asked haughtily and the microphone was shoved in front of Fubuki's mouth. "I-I'm very happy! Thank you to everyone who supported me and the kind judges!" His speech sent his fan girls swooning with pink hearts replacing their eyes.

"Ooh! Ice-element user with a warm smile, I see!" He teased him lightly. "And now, from the red side, we have Goenji Shuuya!" The spotlight was turned to where the striker stood. Tsunami had his arm around the latter's shoulders. If one looks closely, they could see his zigzag eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "Known widely as Flame Striker and the voice of reason of Raimon Eleven and Inazuma Japan, he was crowned the Ace Striker of both teams!"

"He has the biggest fan club and most fan girls in the school, but he only likes one girl and that is his little sister, Yuuka! (a chorus of aww was heard from the spectators) Had broken the hearts of hundreds of girls! (girls who got rejected by Goenji sobbed in sadness) Has the tendency to kick soccer balls at people who he's unsatisfied with! (Endou, Kidou, Fubuki and Toramaru turned pale) Is there anything you'd like to say, hmm?" Tsunami held the microphone near Goenji's lips.

"Get your arm off my neck before I wring yours." That warning made Tsunami's face turned panic and he jerked off the fire striker. Goenji snorted and step into the middle of the field. It took Tsunami about one minute to get over Goenji's frightening warning, and he said meekly through the microphone, "Did I mention that he's a serious person and has a quick temper?"

Suzuno snorted. "All fire strikers have quick temper. Goenji's not the only one." He said and glanced to Nagumo, who was sitting beside him. "What was that?" The ex-captain of Prominence snapped angrily. "I dare you to repeat that again, you sissy octopus!" Midorikawa grabbed Nagumo's arms from behind while Hiroto stood between the angered Nagumo and the composed Suzuno. From the judges table, Saginuma groaned, "Hmmph, kids these days." Fudou smirked at that statement. "How old are you again?" The Mohawk boy sneered lightly at the ex-captain of Epsilon.

Saginuma didn't respond.

The match ended with Goenji scoring a single goal using Fire Tornado Kai. The Head Judge, Endou shaking in fear with his eyes closed and his face turned away as he placed the golden crown on Goenji's head while Haruna happily acted as the reporter and snapped a picture of the moment. Fubuki marvelled at the shiny silver crown that was placed on his head. Hiroto, Toramaru, Sakuma and Someoka received bronze crowns.

They were very playful, teasing Someoka as he was being shy when Endou wanted to crown him his bronze crown, girls squealed as Fubuki happily accepted his silver crown that they volunteered to prepare with love, Kidou and Kazemaru grinned madly while pushing him to Goenji in order to crown the fire striker his golden crown. The scowling fire striker was in a bad mood because his fan girls tried to 'rape' him and he looked like he'll bite anyone who's within 1 metre radius from him. Endou thanked the stars in the sky that he didn't, or he might have to go to clinic and get a tetanus shot!

The sound of the chorus line of Akatsuki no Kuruma pierced through the air. Goenji recognized the sound as his cell phone's ringtone and took the cellphone from his bag. The screen showed 'Tou-san'. _"Why did Tou-san call? I thought I told him that I'll be home late." _ Shaking his head, Goenji slide the symbol of green phone on the screen and said, "Tou-san."

_"Shuuya, return home right now and take a shower."_

"Tou-san?"

_"Remember Plaza Hotel? It's fifteen minutes by commuter from Inazuma Town."_

"Yeah, I did. We went there once when Yuuka had her piano test."

_"Be there in one hour. Fuku and Yuuka will be going with me."_

"Yes, Tou-san."

_"Oh, yeah. Thank God it didn't slip out of my mind. Bring Fudou Akio with you."_

Goenji looked over his shoulder to Fudou, who was being chased by angry Kidou, Sakuma and Genda. Nearby, Haruna was blushing while her friends seemed to congratulate her.

"Yes, Tou-san. I will."

To his surprise, the phone call was ended abruptly. Goenji stared at his cell phone accusingly. His father must have been very busy that he ended the call quickly without even saying goodbye. Well, Goenji Katsuya is a respected surgeon after all. At the cut of the call, he'd probably at the operation room right now, cutting people's skin and poking their organs.

He shuddered at that odd thought.

Now, questions filled his mind. Why does his father told him to bring Fudou? What was the reason? Anyway, he needed to pass the message to Fudou, and with him still being chased by his Teikoku friends wasn't helping at all. Goenji stopped Fudou from running while Endou, Kabeyama and Tobitaka grabbed each of them and ushered them away from Fudou. Fudou grinned like the Chesire cat in Alice in Wonderland when he saw a struggling Kidou trying to claw him like an angry cat.

"Fudou." He called him out. Goenji was surprised that he managed to even say his family name. The second strategist looked over his shoulder and raised a questioning brow. Letting out a sigh, he explained shortly, "My father wants me to bring you to Plaza Hotel in an hour. So, we should meet up at the commuter station in forty minutes."

"Did he tell you why?"

Goenji shook his head.

Fudou pursed his lips and his eyes wandered off. He seemed to be thinking hard. After a few seconds, he sighed in exasperation and shrugged his shoulders. "Kay'. Sure. One hour. Plaza Hotel." He said without looking at Goenji and started packing his stuff. A frown formed on Goenji's forehead. "Do you know what this is all about?" He asked him suddenly.

Fudou stopped moving and turned to him. Goenji swore he saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I might have a clue. But I don't feel like telling you." He found satisfication in watching Goenji looking at him with a surprise expression. Grabbing his bag, he said in a low voice, "See you at the commuter station." He walked away and waved his hand. Goenji grudgingly let him walk away without any sort of threat or interrogation.

"Come back here, Fudou Akio! You and I have a score to settle!" Kidou yelled angrily from behind.

* * *

Awkward was an understatement, judging by how silent the situation was. The sound of people chattering, high-heels made clicking noise when it touches the marble floor and the metallic noise made when utensils were used to cut the meals were completely blocked from the people who gathered at a certain round table near the window.

Goenji Shuuya leaned against his chair, trying to find comfort amidst the tense atmosphere. He stared at his father incredulously, not understanding anything that was happening. Or he did understand, but he refused to admit that he did. Or he didn't even want to admit at all.

"What?" He asked generally in disbelieve.

Sighing for the umpteenth count of the day, Goenji Katsuya stared at his son. He realized that this won't be easy. Especially since his son had grown so much when he didn't even realized that. His son was taller and his body looked well-built. His eyes were now as sharp as his. And the voice sounded deeper than the boyish one that he had missed.

He grabbed the soft hand of the woman beside him and smiled reassuringly at her. The woman nodded her head and together they looked at the son of the Goenji family straight into the eye with determination and confidence. Goenji Shuuya might be the heir of the family, but Katsuya is still his father and he deserved to be respected.

"I'm going to marry this woman, Shuuya. She'll be your stepmother."

The second time he heard this news, Goenji's heart shattered like a mirror thrown against a wall. Stepmother...how he dreaded the thought of having a woman with that title entering his life. When he was little and his mother, Shuuko had passed away, he was scared that his father might be remarrying. He had numerous of escape plans should that happens. But years passed by, and the question of marriage hadn't surfaced in the family, not even once.

Until now.

Should he take the risk and pulled the plans into action? But this woman in front of him was no ordinary woman.

Fudou Michiko, two years younger than his father, is a respectable lawyer who is feared by her rivals in the world of law. Graduated from a law university at England, she was sought after by many clients and paid a handsome amount of money to solve their cases. Through her marriage with Fudou Tohru, she was only a housewife as her ex-husband didn't allow her to work. After she got a divorce, she took an offer from a law firm and became a lawyer to support herself and her son.

He sneaked a glance at Fudou, who apparently put on a poker face and sipping his Earl Grey tea. When their eyes met, Fudou smirked teasingly, causing him to shoot a glare at his potential younger stepbrother.

Yuuka placed both of her hands and pushed herself up from the chair, half of her figure could be seen from across the table. "I wanna be the flower girl! Can I? Can I? Pleasssseee!" She gave her famous pleading puppy eyes at her father. Katsuya wanted to close his eyes so badly, but an idea crossed his mind. "Why don't you ask your nii-chan? If he says yes, then it's a yes!"

The six year-old's face brightened and she turned to her brother. "Nii-chan, pretty please!" She pouted cutely while tugging on the end of her brother's arm. Goenji gulped nervously. If there's anything that'll make him give in to anything, it's his sister's wish! He shot a dirty look at his father, who quickly turned away and whistled, as if nothing had happened. Looking from his father to Yuuka, he sighed in defeat. "Alright. Alright. You can be the flower girl." He agreed to his sister's wish and, he knew, the marriage between his father and Fudou's mother.

It was as if Christmas came earlier than schedule for Goenji Yuuka. The girl squealed left her seat, running towards her father and hugged him tightly. Katsuya patted his daughter's head while Michiko smiled warmly at the father and daughter.

"Oh, my! Congratulations, Master Katsuya and Miss Michiko!" Fuku bowed her head her employer and the future mistress that she'll be serving. "Thank you, Fuku." Katsuya and Michiko nodded politely. Fudou, for the first time, smiled genuinely, knowing that his mother had finally found some happiness for herself after their bitter past.

"But..."

All eyes turned to Yuuka, who played with the end of the ribbon of her dress. "Why did I have to ask permission from nii-chan to be the flower girl?" She asked, and everyone sweatdropped. Katsuya knew the question was directed to him, but he only said that to trap his son into agreeing with his second marriage.

"Of course you need his permission, Yuuka-chan." All eyes turned to Fudou, who took a bite of a butter cookie. "Your brother wants to be the flower girl too." He teased in a sing-a-song tone. Goenji's jaws dropped and a dark red blush crept onto his face and neck when a chorus of laughter erupted from the table.

"N-No, that's not true!" He was quick to deny Fudou's assumption.

But Yuuka innocently grabbed his arm and said in a reassuring tone, "Aw, that's ok, nii-chan. We can both be flower girls at the wedding, okay?"

The volume of laughter increased as other people from nearby tables joined too. Goenji groaned and covered his face with his hands. How he wished the floor would open and swallow him whole right now and save him from the embarrassment!

"Don't worry, I'll prepare the dresses for you two, flower girls." Fudou winked, and that was the last straw.

"FUDOU AKIO!"

* * *

As much as he didn't want to admit, Goenji spent almost the whole day being nervous about what the famous ex-MVP named Levin Murdoch wanted to discuss with him, a teenage soccer player from Japan. Fortunately, he was smart enough to cover his worries and didn't let it affect his performance in the training that day.

When he and Fudou broke the news of his father and Fudou's mother's upcoming wedding, their friends and coaches were taken by complete surprise. Endou had personally met Goenji Katsuya before, and the aura of charisma and credibility had somehow intimidated him. The captain had sincerely told him he didn't expect his father to be the type to remarry again. Goenji didn't really get it, but he knew Endou meant well.

The girls wondered how Fudou's mother looked like, so the Joker of the team showed them a few pictures of his dear mother. They squealed excitedly when they saw how beautiful and elegant woman she is. Long curly hair tied into a high ponytail, half-framed rectangular glasses and the clear eyes was a beauty to them. Tsunami, Someoka and Hijikata who peered over to take a look of the picture, had a major nosebleed. Kazemaru, Fubuki and Hiroto helped them by stuffing tissues into their nostrils. Fudou was nowhere amused.

Despite the craziness that each of them had, practice helped them to improve and it ended peacefully with no chaos made, even from Kogure. Goenji remembered that Levin promised him that he'll pick him up after practice ended. He could feel the anxiousness getting the better off him.

"Goenji."

He flinched when he heard his family name being called. He turned around and his eyes met Kudou's. "Yes, sir?"

Kudou stayed silent for awhile and scrutinizing him from head to feet. Goenji held his breath and tried to stay calm. Noticing that he had caused the young player to feel uncomfortable, Kudou stopped and muttered an apology. "Come with me." He said, and Goenji noticed that his voice was barely audible. Maybe there's something that he needed from him but he didn't want the others to find out. Goenji shrugged his shoulders, slung his bag over his left shoulder and followed his coach.

Kudou led him to the back of the clubroom. Second thought crossed Goenji's mind, but he set it at the back of his mind as he trusted the coach. What he saw, or rather who he met, surprised him a bit. As promised, Levin came to pick him up. Goenji was too stunned to say or do anything. Giving the flame striker a pat on the shoulder, Levin proceeded to Kudou. He stayed still for a couple of seconds before bowing politely to him.

"Thank you for your help, Kudou-san."

Nodding his head, Kudou replied, "That's alright, but Goenji's a member of a team that's been entrusted to me. I need to know if there's anything going on."

Levin chuckled. "I hope you have a bit of faith in Goenji and I. Don't worry, the Prime Minister will explain to you when the right time comes."

Kudou's eyes widened when he heard this, but he kept himself in check and simply turned around and left the two alone.

"So," Goenji shifted his gaze towards Levin, "Shall we go now?" Levin suggested, and Goenji nodded weakly. "Yes, but where exactly are we going?"

A grin plastered on the older man's face. "Your house."

"W-what?" His house?

"Come on. We mustn't let your father wait for too long. He has patients to attend too, right?" Levin sounded too eager as he ushered him into his blue BMW.

"Eh?"

* * *

This was totally unexpected. At the moment, there were three people sitting on the sofas in the living room. The three people were Goenji, his father and a foreigner who also used to be a famous soccer player.

His father was sitting on a one-seated sofa. Both of his hands were on the arms of the sofa. Levin Murdoch took a seat on a three-seated sofa on his right. Levin crossed his legs and his hands were joined on his lap. He seemed to be the most relax person out of the three of them. Right in front of him was the subject of the discussion they'll be having. Goenji Shuuya shifted uncomfortably under the stern gaze of his father.

The tense between them lessened when Fuku came into their circle, carrying a tray consisted of a teapot and three sets of teacups. She knelt on the floor and placed the teacups in front of her employer, the young master and the guest. She left after pouring the cinnamon tea into each teacup and giving a polite bow.

Katsuya reached for the teacup in front of him and took a sip. "You said over the phone call last night that you have something important to discuss with me, right?" He started the conversation as he put the teacup on the coffee table. His father got a call from Levin last night? Goenji tried to recall when exactly did it happened, but failed to remember.

"Yes, I have. It concerns your son, Shuuya." Levin admitted.

A frown appeared on Katsuya's forehead. "My son didn't give you any kind of trouble, did he?" He asked. There was a hint of building anger inside the voice and his eyes narrowed in Goenji's direction. Relieve washed over Goenji as he knew that his father's assumption was incorrect.

Waving his hands, Levin denied the statement. "No, no! He didn't! In fact, your son's a very hardworking and kind lad. You must be very proud of him."

Hearing that his son didn't cause any trouble, in fact, he was complimented, Katsuya sighed and his hard and sharp gaze turned soft. "Yes, he is. I'm glad that I raised him well." A pause. "But that didn't answer my question. What exactly would you like to discuss with me?"

"Prime Minister Zaizen informed me that you've been following the matches that Inazuma Japan had at the Liocott Island. I'm sure you're more than capable of recognizing me."

There was a few seconds of silence before Katsuya replied, "Yes, I know you. You were the commentator along with that blond man named Max or something. What's that got to do with this?"

"From the moment your son stepped into the field in the match against England's Knights of Queen, I was fascinated with his performance. From my critical observation, he has a lot of potential and an undeniably rare talent. It would be such a waste to simply let a soccer player with so much to show to the world of soccer stay just like that."

Katsuya and Goenji's breath were halted. "Where are you leading this conversation to?" Katsuya managed to breathe the words out.

"I'd like to take Goenji Shuuya under my wings. As my protégé."

Those words seemed too good to be true.

* * *

I know I should have finished my fic, Face the Reality, but I couldn't help but post this new fic. Don't worry, the next chapter will complete this fic. I entered Form 6 now, so things had been difficult for me. I'll try to update little by little.

R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

**Sayonara, Flame Striker!**

_A decision must be made. Between Inazuma Japan and his future, only one can be chosen. What will be Goenji's decision? Will he still fight alongside Inazuma Japan, or will he make his solo debut?_

Chapter 2: The New Ace Striker

* * *

"Goenji-san!"

A familiar voice called out to him in an alarming tone. Goenji's eyes widened in shock when he realized that there's a ball being passed to him in a fast speed. The platinum blonde cursed himself inwardly. Why the hell had he been daydreaming about and not concentrating on the match?! He pepared himself to face the shoot, but Fubuki, who was in the opposing team, swiftly intercepted the ball. Gasps broke among their teammates and spectators as the Ice Prince carried the ball across the field.

"Damn it!" A curse left Goenji's mouth and the ace striker quickly after his elemental rival.

Kidou analyzed the situation for a while before he yelled, "Fall back! To the defense!" He gestured to his teammates with his hand. Someoka, Midorikawa, Toramaru and Tsunami stormed passed him to assist their goalkeeper, Tachimukai of protecting their goal. Endou's team had scored a goal before, which ties the both teams. With the limited time left in the match, another shot into their goal will seal their loss!

"Goenji!" Kidou, who managed to catch up to the ace striker, called him. Goenji spared a glance at him. "Let Toramaru and Someoka steal the ball from Fubuki! You need to preserve your energy!" As expected from the strategist, he had came up with a plan to assure their victory.

Realization dawned into Goenji. "You want me to get the ball into Endou's goal?"

Kidou nodded. "Once Someoka and Toramaru get the ball, they'll pass it to you. You'll be on your own at Endou's side of field, but I'm sure you can handle Kogure and Kabeyama."

"Right. I get it." After he received the order, Goenji proceeded to somewhere in the field near Fubuki, Soemoka and Toramaru. Although he had two talented stikers trying to seal his movements and steal the ball from him, Fubuki managed to keep the ball. His foot work was so fast that even Goenji couldn't read his movements. It was more like a basketball player's foot work since the way he moved it seemed slipperish.

But the time was running fast. Goenji turned to the clock. There's only five minutes left until the match ends. And their resident referee, Megane Kazuto was literally gluing his eyes on his watch, the red whistle was closed to his mouth. His attention was back to the ball. Maybe he should after the ball himself. But, was that a good idea?

But he didn't have to. Toramaru stole the ball with a little movement trick while Soemoka had distracted Fubuki with his agressive attacks. "Goenji-san!" The ball was passed to Goenji with no problem. The ball hit him on the chest and Goenji let it slide down before kicking its way to Endou's goal.

An annoyed shout of "Next time, don't space out in a match!" from Someoka was heard from behind. As much as Goenji hated to admit it, Someoka had a point there. He shouldn't be careless. He was a damn, bloody Goenji, for Kami's sake! What would his ancestors and father said if they saw his foolishness? He'd bet one thousand yen that his strict great-grandfather Kojun was rolling in his grave.

Three days has passed since Levin paid a visit to the Goenji household and literally, dropped an atomic bomb to it. Although it wasn't as severe and as serious as the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima years and years ago, but the surprise was pretty much the same.

Since then, things between him and Katsuya had been awkward and tense. So far, his father hadn't point out or left any indication that he refuse to let him accept the internship. Goenji was grateful to his father for respecting his right in making the decision. But he was the only son in the family. Even if he were to study abroad instead of going for the internship, he feels that he needs his father's blessing.

He had never even dream of something like this to happen to him. He knew he was one of the very few teenage soccer player that is offered such an oppurtunity. He simply couldn't miss this chance. He tried to imagine himself undergoing tough trainings under Levin's guidance. The thrill that he'll receive, the experience that he'll have and the results of the training that he'll deservely earn. That'll surely leave a warm and content feelings inside him.

An exasperated sigh escaped his lips and he was pulled back into the current situation. Right now, he was a normal Japanese boy, enrolling into a high school in next term and posessed a pure talent in soccer. He was in the same team as his friends, playing against another group of friends. He snorted. Incredibly, for the recent two years, he had somehow managed to get himself involve into the world of soccer again, meet Endou and Kidou and make lots of friends through their journey to protect the Earth against so-called aliens and bring the shiny FFI trophy home in Japan.

Will he be able to leave his friends behind and pursue a possible career as a professional soccer player?

"Goal! The ace striker of Inazuma Japan, Goenji Shuuya scored yet another goal into the opposing team's!" Kakuma Keita announced with tears of joy falling down his cheeks like a rush river.

While the others were either celebrating their victory or grumbling or whining about their defeat, Goenji stood still on the field. His eyes were on the grass beneath his feet and fists clenched tightly on either of his side. Toramaru shook hands with Fubuki, who praised him for his agility. He turned his attention to Goenji and his happy face fell. A frown appeared on his face.

"Goenji-san?" He whispered.

The wind blew softly and somehow, Toramaru felt like his idol was distant.

* * *

"Whoa, so this is what a mansion looks like!" Endou marvelled over the size and beauty of the mansion. He had lowered down the window when they arrived at the north entrance to the Zaizen Estate to take a better look of the surrounding. Apparently, Toramaru, Tachimukai and a few others who sat beside the window of the Inazuma Caravan had done the same. All of them, except for Kidou, Natsumi, Hiroto and Goenji, have never seen a mansion before.

Kidou practically lives in one since he was in elementary. But he often complained about having the maids following him around 24/7, which earn a good laugh from Hijikata and Tsunami.

Natsumi didn't just live in a mansion. She actually _owned _three mansions under her own name! She's certaintly the female version of Richie Rich!

Being the adopted son of the rich Kira Seijirou, Hiroto's currently staying at the Kira Mansion, along with his adoptive father and adoptive sister, Hitomiko. But he always commutes from the mansion to Sun Garden to spend time with his friends.

Goenji had been into a few mansions in his life. The first one was his paternal grandfather's. Goenji Enjun was a successful businessman, owning construction companies, hotels, casinos, resorts and martial arts academis all over the world. He used to visit Enjun, until he disowned Katsuya for refusing to succeed the family's businesses. But until now, Enjun kept in touch with him and Yuuka and send money for them to spend.

The Inazuma Caravan drove through the white tiles of pathway and made a turn around a big and beautiful water fountain. It was the sculpture of a woman covering herself with a loose cloth. The water came out of the tilted jar she held in her hands. Finally, the ride stopped in front of the main entrance of the mansion.

Once they came down from the Caravan, the wooden door with golden carvings opened by maids in French maid costume, revealing the young mistress of Zaizen family. Touko quickly descended the stairs to meet and greet her friends. They were all surprised by the way she dress. She was wearing a baby pink blouse with a red ribbon at the upper centre of the her breast. The white leggings that she wore matches the blouse perfectly.

Tsunami grinned and peered over Kidou. "Wow, look who's blushing? The tensai Kidou Yuuto!" He teased. Kidou flushed and shook his head violently. "No, I'm not! I do not blush!" He protested, but Tsunami wasn't buying it. "Lover boy." Hijikata elbowed Kidou, making him flustered even more. Fortunately, the others didn't notice the teasing. The girls huddled around Touko and squealed in excitement. "Thank you for inviting us to your house." Endou said and bowed slightly. The others followed in suit. Touko shook her own hands in front of her. "Don't mention it. And stop bowing, I have enough maids to do that to me." She sounded annoyed about the bowing thing.

"Minna," Touko turned around, "Welcome to my house. Kudou-kantoku and Hibiki-kantoku will join us with Papa later. THey said they had a few matters to deal with." She tried to remember, putting her index finger against her side of forehead. Suddenly, she clasped both of her hands together and said cheerfully, "Well, we'll be having the tea and snacks in the garden. While we're at it, you guys can tell me what you've been up to recently." Rika grabbed her arm and marched forward. "Right! What are you guys waiting for? Let's go!" She piped in and somewhat dragging Touko along. Aki sighed at that and seeing Rika reminded her of a certain someone. She took her cell phone from her pants' pocket.

Still no message?

Haruna smiled knowingly and pushed Aki from behind playfully to move her.

Goenji Katsuya knew that he could no longer avoid discussing the internship matter with his son any longer. Levin wanted Shuuya's answer in a week, and three days has passed. So, he left the hospital as early as he can so that he could have a chance to discuss it with his son. Lucky for him, patients were not too many and there are many doctors working at the moment. If any of his patients needed him, a collegue promised him to replace him as the doctor in charge. Katsuya was currently driving home.

Reminiscing the time when he told Shuuya to walk his own path, he didn't expect this to happen. He knew his son's passion for soccer and thought that may be Shuuya will end up as a professional soccer player for Japan if he's talented and strong enough. A rare talent like him was hard to pass by. And if that was to happen, he wouldn't object. Shuuya is already of age where he has the right to make his own decision. Knowing his son, he most probably wanted to accept the offer. As a responsible father who loves his son, Katsuya wanted the best that he could offer to Shuuya.

But as the loving father, he didn't want to let his son go. As ridiculous as it sounds, it was hard for him to have his children away from him, especially after the death of his dear wife. Shuuko used to remind him that as busy as he is with work, but he shouldn't forget their children who stay up late at night, waiting for him to come home just to greet and tell him how their day was. If only he had listened to his wife, he might not be this distant with his son.

He glanced at his Rolex watch. There's still some time left. Maybe he can get some peace for himself and comtemplate on what his next step should be; either to persuade Shuuya to stay or encourage him to leave with Levin. And his car made a sharp U-turn. Maybe visiting Shuuko will give him the answers he needed.

* * *

Unlike the usual silence and peacefulness that always surround the whole mansion, today it was loud and chaotic. Touko had decided to treat the girls for a luxurious spa, which leaves the boys at the mansion. She thought they'll be at their best behaviour since they're at the Prime Minister's residence and that Endou, Kidou and Goenji will have them in leash. But she was wrong. For right at the very moment her limo left the sight of her mansion, the boys were in dire need of entertaintment.

Kurimatsu and Max scaring the living daylights out of Kabeyama by shoving a large spider that they had brough with them. Kabeyama had instictly curled into a large ball as his defense system from the ten times smaller spider.

Endou and Tachimukai were at a soccer field, hogging over the goals for themselves and practice with the vicious machines. Due to their lack of knowledge in machinery guidance, the machines went berserk and attack them with soccer balls mercilessly. Kazemaru arrived just in time to save them.

Someoka, with a dark aura surrounding him and his eyes flashing bright red and fangs extracted, was chasing Kogure around the mansion for spreading rumours of him wearing a pink Hello Kitty boxers. Megane twins were terribly unluckily as they stumbled upon Kogure when he was running from Someoka. Due to excessively high fear, they joined Kogure's frantic escape. Yamino Kageto, dressed in white yukata while holding incenses in his hands, followed Someoka around in an attempt to 'purify the evil in him'.

Fubuki, Midorikawa, Sakuma and Hiroto had created their own little corner of serenity and wisdom. They were sitting on the chairs around a glass round table, enjoying the tea and the chirpings of the birds. Anyone who watched them would have been in peace as well. Although they did attract a number of young maids who were ogling at them for quite a while with red hearts as their eyes.

Fudou and Kidou found a chess set made of glass that Prime Minister Zaizen received as a personal gift from Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince. Their bickering about who's better at chess between them led to a fiery match between them. While everyone thought that Kidou will win the silly match, it turns out Fudou has been in the lead since the beginning of the match. Fudou was winning, but no one can predict the outcome of the match.

But, did that stop Fudou from flashing his smug smirk and dancing his victory dance?

No.

Tsunami claimed that he could smell the salty scent of the ocean and was overly delighted when he found a vast ocean near the mansion. He borrowed some surfing boards from Touko and headed towards the sea, dragging Tsunami, Hijikata and Tobitaka with him. The three were 'forced' to learn how to surf, which ended terribly with Hijikata crash landed and stuck his head into the sand like an ostrich, Toramaru sprained his leg and was drowning and crying for help. Better than Tobitaka who had already drowned, leaving a few bubbles of oxygen on the ocean! Tsunami threw his surf board in the air and cried for help while while running in circles.

Shaking his head at his friends' childish antics, Goenji continued wandering around the mansion. At first, he was reading the books in the library, but the maids caught sight of him and wanted to get his autographs and snap a few pictures with him. Not wanting any kind of disturbance, he took the polite way of rejecting them without any exchange of words by leaving the library and started to walk where ever his legs carry him. He had seen the family portraits, uniquely odd sculptures, sound-proof music room, guest rooms, swimming pools, ocean and soccer field.

"Maybe I should go back to the team. They'll wonder where I am when they notice my dissapearance." He spoke to himself. He was about to leave when he heard a soft whimper from behind. When he turned around, he saw a small puppy with its tail wagging furiously and its tiny tongue stucking out at him. The puppy's fur was as white as snow with a little bluish tinge on them. A sky blue collar was attached on its neck. Goenji frowned and scope his surrounding, trying to find who might be the owner of the lost puppy.

The puppy let out another whimper and bit the end of his jeans, gesturing Goenji to follow him. His first though was to put the puppy aside and go back to the garden and join Fubuki's peaceful inner circle. But he cancelled his intention and gathered the puppy into the comfort of his arms. The puppy licked his cheek playfully before snuggling comfortably into his chest, eyes shut. Goenji patted its head and shifted the collar to find the puppy's name.

"Axel..." He whispered, and the puppy let out a small bark in excitement. Goenji smiled and ruffled Axel's fur. Why does the name sounds very familiar?

"Axel!" A loud voice calling the puppy's name broke through the air. Axel's small ears perked up and he enthusiastically jumped off of Goenji's arms and running into the arms of a girl. Goenji's eyes fell on the form of the girl. His breath hitched. The girl possessed a long, bright golden hair that reaches her waist. Her blue eyes were as beautiful as the deep ocean. _"She must be a foreigner." _He whispered in his heart when he watched the girl hugging the puppy close to her chest while the puppy showered her with affection by licking all over her face.

The girl noticed his presence and her eyes widened. Goenji let out a nervous laugh when he was caught staring at her intently for a long time. "H-Hi. I f-found the puppy here. Is he y-yours?" He tried speaking in English, hoping that the girl will be able to understand what he was trying to say despite his stammering due to awkwardness of the situation.

Smiling softly, the girl spoke in a soft voice, "Thank you." Hearing her gratitude, Goenji couldn't help but feel relief that he didn't left the puppy all by itself and missed the chance to meet her. It was difficult to explain what he feels right now, but it was certainly something warm and joyful. The girl turned and walked away, exiting from the garden.

Goenji snapped from the trance when he realized she was leaving. "Wait!"

The girl stopped in her track and turned around, looking at him in confusion.

When he had finally caught her attention, he said, "I'm Shuuya, Goenji Shuuya. And you?"

The smile that has been tugging on his lips since he saw her turned into a smirk when the girl blushed.

"Stellar." She said shyly. But she somehow recovered her self-confidence and said firmly, "My name's Stellar."

Goenji watched the girl turned around and took her leave as soon as she told him her name. Strands of her loose golden hair was softly blown by the wind as she walks away. The sight was captivating. "Stellar..." Goenji found himself liking that name and the owner itself.

* * *

"Hahaha! And then, he said, 'It's not mine! It's my brother's!'" Rika had been telling them a famous joke that was circulating around her school. Touko laughed heartingly with Rika and Haruna while the others, namely Aki, Natsumi and Fuyuka chukled lightly since they were too polite to do so. The trip to spa was absolutely wonderful and relaxing. Being massaged by the expert massesurs and a soothing flower bath were entirely different than any other. After the spa, a new shopping mall nearby attracted Natsumi, Rika and Haruna's attention, which led them to a girlish shopping spree. All expenses were dealt with a single swipe from Natsumi and Touko's credit card.

Aki opened the door for them to come in and the sight that greeted her was Tsunami, wearing nothing but swimming trunks, pretending to surf with a real surf board and the handrails of the stairs as the wave. Behind him, Kurimatsu and Max followed his example. Her eyes widened twice the fixed size when the slide into mid-air.

"What's wrong, Aki? Why are you not coming in?" Natsumi asked her. She cocked her head to see what made Aki stop in her tracks, but the black-haired girl was faster. "No! You can't see!" She immediately closed the door shut. She stood against the door with her hands behind her. Her girl friends blinked and began to stare at her in curiousity. Aki could feel she was starting to sweat. "Um...why don't we come in through another entrance? We've...er...went through here before." A nervous laugh escaped her lips.

Touko swallowed nervously. "What did you see? What happened inside?" She shook Aki's body but the girl remained silent with a worried look on her face. Touko released her grip from Aki's shoulders and pushed the door open with all her might.

"Yeeeeehaaaa!" Her face turned pale at the sight of Tsunami making his special surfing move in the air while Kurimatsu, Max and Kabeyama clapped the other side of the hall, Fudou and Sakuma were bowing at each other when suddenly...

"On guard!" Fudou shouted, drawing a sword from the sheath that was tied on a side of his waist. Kazemaru did the same, and Fudou lunged at him. Sakuma defended himself from Fudou's vicious attacks. "I shall save the Lady Juliet from you, evil villian!" Fudou said with determination as he attacked Sakuma's blind spot. "Arrgghh!" Sakuma yelped in pain and landed with one knee on the ground. But he quickly recovered himself and took the position of offense from Fudou.

The Lady Juliet aka Tachimukai Yuuki, who was dressed in Touko's pink gown, a reddish pink bow on his head and a red lipstick on his lips, blushed furiously as he squirmed uncomfortably with the ropes around him. He was tied up, and Hijikata and Midorikawa, who acted as Sakuma's goons, let out evil laughs at his pathetic attempt to release himself. "Help me!" He cried out in 'despair'.

A magnificent voice caught the girls ears, including Touko's. The turned and saw Hiroto, standing majestically under a golden spotlight- courtesy of Kogure Yuuya, reciting a Sonnet 99 by William Shakespeare.

_The forward violet thus did I chide:_  
_Sweet thief, whence didst thou steal thy sweet that smells,_  
_If not from my love's breath? Thy purple pride_  
_Which on thy soft cheek for complexion dwells_  
_In my love's veins thou hast too grossly dyed._  
_The lily I condemned for thy hand,_  
_And buds of marjoram had stol'n thy hair:_  
_The roses fearfully on thorns did stand,_  
_One blushing shame, another white despair;_  
_A third, nor red nor white, had stol'n of both_  
_And to his robbery had annex'd thy breath;_  
_But, for his theft, in pride of all his growth_  
_A vengeful canker eat him up to death._  
_More flowers I noted, yet I none could see_  
_But sweet or color it had stol'n from thee_

Toramaru, Endou, Kidou and the rest of the others, except Goenji, clapped at the performance. "Magnefico!" Someoka praised and pretended to wipe his tears with a handkerchief.

Touko's eyes rolled and she fainted. The loud thump of her body falling on the floor freeze everyone's movement. "Touko!" Aki cried and reached for her fallen friend.

* * *

After the whole Inazuma Hyper Syndrome fiasco, Kidou and Kazemaru carried Touko to a couch in the living room. Tachimukai, still in the dress and makeup, and Hiroto fanned the girl with the hand fan that they found sticking on the wall (actually it's supposed to be a decoration, but boys were too stupid to know that). Fuyuka twisted the towel to extract some of the water absorbed by the towel and fold it neatly. She put the folded towel on Touko's forehead. Touko let out a tired groan.

Natsumi grimaced and glared at Endou, who smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry." He mumbled. Natsumi hmmped and turned away from him.

"Geez, all of you!" Haruna started to nag. Her hands were on her hips. "We left you for less than a day, and you managed to turn the mansion into a playground! You're all in junior high and in a few moths, high school! Learn to gorw up, please!" When Haruna wasn't looking at his direction, Sakuma elbowed Kidou and whispered, "Your sister sure is scary when she wants to be." On Kidou's other side, Fudou smirked. "Just like her brother." He and Sakuma snickered while Kidou's face turned sour.

Then, she turned to Tsunami, who snapped into attention when her scary eyes were on him.

"And you," She pointed accusingly at him. "are in high school! As the oldest, you're the one who should guide them! Not joining them and act like little kiddies!" She stopped and lingered her sight to her Kidou. A dissapointed sigh escaped from her lips as her shoulders slumped down. Kidou hung his head down shamefully.

Aki giggled at the antics of her friends. "Now, now, Haruna. Let them off the hook this time. They didn't really made a big mess out of Touko's house. So don't worry. I'm sure Touko wouldn't mind."

Hearing her friend's assurance, Haruna mouthed, "Maybe."

All heads turned to the door when it was pushed open too hard that they hit the walls, revealing a panting Zaizen Sosuke. His eyes were scanning the room for his daughter. When he saw her lying on the couch, he wobbled slightly to her. Endou and Kidou got up from their seats and led the Prime Minister to Touko. Sosuke sat on a single couch near his daughter. He leaned forward and carressed her face. "How is she?" He asked Fuyuka, the concern of a loving father was evident in his voice.

Fuyuka smiled gently. "Rest assured, Zaizen-san. She just need some rest and then she'll be fine."

Sosuke sighed in relief. "That's good to hear."

"We're sorry for troubling you and Touko. We were totally out of character today." Endou apologized on behalf of himself and his friends and bowed at him. Murmurs of apologize came from the others as well. A bemused smile formed on Sosuke's lips. "No, that's ok. There's no need to apologize. Touko's the one who's worried too much. Seriously, I wouldn't mind if you come and visit Touko." He said softly and his gaze fell on his unconcious daughter. "You see, she is an only child, so sometimes she's lonely and when she needs to talk to someone, I couldn't make time for her. Maybe your companion wouldn't make her feel lonely like before."

"Heh, that's simple." Kogure said smugly. "You want someone to be her companion, right? I'm sure Kidou here wouldn't mind being with her too much. Ushishishi." The little guy covered his mouth when he said his trademark. "W-what?" Sosuke blinked, feeling confused. Kidou blushed furiously when the man shifted his eyes to his direction while the others either grin at him or made a few naughty wolf-whistle. Someoka mysteriously appeared behind Kogure while gritting his teeth and cracking his knuckles. He wrapped his arms around Kogure's neck and chocked him from behind. "L-Let me g-go!" He managed to chocked out a few words from his mouth.

"Serve you right! How dare you embarrass my brother!" Haruna stared down at him with both hands on either hips.

Laughters erupted from the group of friends. Sosuke allowed a smile appearing on his lips as he watch the prove of a strong friendship between the teenagers around him. He suddenly remembered Goenji. He didn't see him since he first arrived at the mansion until now. "Where's Goenji?" He asked Tobitaka of the ace striker's whereabouts. Tobitaka shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. He went for a tour around the mansion when we were goofing around." Midorikawa was the one who replied. "Oh."

"So, has he come to a decision yet?"

Endou, who heard his question, frowned. "Decision? Of what?"

"Well, his mentorship with Levin, of course!" Sosuke stated, in a tone suggesting that it was obvious.

Everyone froze and fell into an uncomfortable silence. Sosuke noticed how shocked they were of what he had just said and realized that Goenji might have not tell them about Levin's offer. "EHH?!" Kabeyama squeaked, his jaws dropped to the floor. "Goenji's leaving?!" Kurimatsu showed up from his behind. On the other side, Kogure appeared. He was able to escape after Someoka was distracted with Sosuke's announcement. "But why? What happened?"

Sosuke frowned and wondered if he should tell them the truth or avoid thelling them any further. But now that the cat's out of the bag, he might as well just confess, or the boys might continue to persuade him until he confess. Taking a deep breath, he started to explain. "I'm sure you still remember Levin Murdoch, the ex-MVP who became one of FFI's commentator." All of them nodded, except for Tsunami who closed his eyes and crossed his arms, trying to remember Levin's face. Touko, who gained her concious after hearing Kabeyama's loud voice, sighed while watching Tsunami. "Never mind." Tsunami noticed her sigh, and grinned sheepishly.

"Well," Sosuke continued, "he had taken an interest in Goenji and wanted to guide him in soccer. In other words, he wanted to take Goenji as his protege. He asked Goenji about this a few days ago, but Goenji hadn't give him the final say yet."

"Is...is he going to take Goenji abroad?" Fubuki asked in a low voice. He sounded a little sad at the idea of Goenji leaving Japan and his friends behind.

"Yes. Levin said if everything goes well, he's going to arrange for him and Goenji to fly to Australia."

The news hit everyone like rocks, especially Endou and Kidou. Goenji's their best friend and one of the big three of Inazuma Japan. Endou's the strong-willed captain, Kidou's the analytic strategist and Goenji's the awesome ace striker. The three of them are the integral players in the field. Endou will encourage his teammates not to give up, Kidou will find a way to break through opponent's hissatsus and tricks and Goenji will score goals. They're like a one package deal. Even imagining Goenji not being the ace striker struck fear and worries into them.

The door was pushed open again. This time, it was the very topic of their tense discussion. Goenji closed the door behind him and startled when he saw everyone having their eyes on him. "Goenji-san..." Toramaru gasped, his face fell. Their expressions were of a variety. Some looked sad, some looked confused and some looked calm and collected. And there's one angry expression.

Someoka stomped to Goenji's position and brushed roughly against Kazemaru's shoulder. Kazemaru winced a little and rubbed his hurting shoulder. When Goenji was within his reach, Someoka landed a powerful punch to his face. Gasps of shock broke from the girls. Not satisfied with just one punch, Someoka landed a few blows on his face and kicked his stomach a few times. The force of the final punch slammed Goenji to the wall. The ace striker fell on fours on the wall. "Goenji-san!" Toramaru cried out and rushed to his idol's side. "Are you ok? Goenji-san!"

"Someoka!" Endou went to him and spread his arms, blocking him from Goenji. "Get out of the way, Endou!" Someoka shouted angrily. Fear tugged in his heart, but Endou refused to give in. "No, I wouldn't! Goenji's my friend, and I wouldn't let anyone hurt my friend! Even if it's my friend!"

The others sweatdropped. "So many 'friend'..." Fubuki murmured. "I'm confused!" Kurimatsu gripped his hair in frustration. "Can someone explain to me about captain's logic?" Hijikata grinned. "Easy! Endou wouldn't let Someoka, his friend, hurt Goenji, who's also his friend even if he's his friend too!"

Kurimatsu stared at Hijikata blankly before falling back anime-style.

"Pathetic." Fudou sneered at the two.

Haruna glared angrily at him and stomped on his foot. "Ouch!" Fudou yelped and rubbed his foot a little. He threw a sharp glare at Haruna, who stucked out a pink tongue at him.

"Why not! Why can't I get mad at him!" Someoka argued with Endou. His index finger was pointed accussingly at Goenji. "I've been holding myself back for quite a while and now, I wouldn't!" Goenji flinched at the sharp edges of Someoka's voice. "He acts so cool and calm all the time no matter what happens! When his sister's in comatose, when we lost against Gemini Storm, when the so-called aliens held his sister as a hostage, when Hitomiko-kantoku pulled him out of the team, when he was forced by his father to quit soccer, when we lost against The Empire!" He stopped for awhile, taking a short breath. His body was shaking furiously.

"We're his friends! And friends are supposed to support each other no matter what obstacles may come! But he had to be the lone wolf, hide every and handle things in his own way! Why can't he open up to us like he's supposed to be?!" Someoka smirked and said sarcastically, "Well guess what, _ace striker_? We found out about the latest secret you're hiding from us!"

Goenji deadpanned when realization dawned into him. "Y-You mean..."

"Yes," Someoka's smirk turned wider, "We know about your possible mentorship with Levin! Surprised?!"

"Someoka!" Endou pushed him away from Goenji. Anger flashed in his blazing eyes. Kidou acted on instinct and signalled to Hijikata and Kazemaru to hold him back and calm him down. The two nodded and did as they were told by the strategist.

Toramaru slung Goenji's arm on his neck and helped him to stand up. "Daijobu, Goenji-san?" Fuyuka asked him and leaned forward to wipe the blood stain on the corner of his mouth with her handkerchief but Goenji swatted her hand away in a gentle manner. His messy hair covered his eyes and he was biting his lower lips. Pushing Toramaru away from like as gentle as he can, Goenji stormed out off the living room, leaving his friends dumbfounded and hurted.

"Goenji!" Fubuki shouted, calling him, but the ace striker didn't even spare a glance.

* * *

Two days passed by and Goenji had locked himself in his bedroom, effectively isolating himself from both his family and friends. Yuuka was the first person to notice his behaviour and persuaded him to come out. She even pretended to hurt herself to trap him into finally breaking his shield, but Goenji knew her too well, thus he knew what she was actually up to. Now, her latest trick is to sulk with her brother. Katsuya threaten to throw away his soccer shoes a few times, but it didn't work either as his soccer shoes were in his bedroom. Thus, Katsuya's threat can't actually be carried out.

Endou, Natsumi, Kidou, Toramaru, Fubuki, Hiroto and surprisingly, Fudou had visited a few times to get him out of the bedroom. Each of them were turned down flatly. He knew that he's making his family and friends worried, but he needed some time to think of what his next step supposed to be and whether he should accept the mentorship or turn it down.

Goenji, who was lying on his bed, glanced at the analogue alarm clock on a table beside his bed. The numbers showed it was 9.00 p.m. shone in red, contrased with the colour of the alarm clock, which is blue. Goenji groaned in pain as he got up and sat at the edge of the bed. His elbows were on his thights and he ran his fingers through his platinum blond hair. Staying in the bedroom for almost 48 hours gave him a headache. Maybe he should take a walk to feel the cold, night breeze.

His orange jacket that was hanging in the closet was taken out and worn swiftly. His customized iPhone 5, which is black with red linings, was stuffed into his pocket along with his wallet (yes, people, customized). He hold the horizontal doorknob and pushed it down slowly. The lights has been switched off, only the tall standing lamp was let on. A memory flashed into his mind. The afternoon before, Fuku had informed him that Katsuya's taking her and Yuuka out for dinner tonight and asked if he wished to come with them. But Goenji didn't reply and Fuku understood that he didn't want to be disturbed.

The first destination that crossed his mind was Steel Tower Plaza. Although Endou always train there with his big tyre hung from a tree, he doubted that Endou's mother would allow her only son to train at night. So chances of bumping into Endou is low. When he arrived at the Plaza, he sat on the wooden bench, facing the view of night in Inazuma Town. The wind here wasn't strong nor weak. It was rather soothing and comforting for him.

From what Levin had told them when he visited him and his father, he'd take him to Australia and enroll him into an international soccer academy situated on a private island nearby Australia. Levin will help him to find a house somewhere in Sydney as their base operation. In the mentorship, he will sometimes have to to take a few days leave from the academy to undergo training. To help him with his routine, his own staff member. He can come home in Japan once in two months for a week, except for Christmas, Inazuma Japan reunion and his mother's death anniversary. All the expenses paid by the Japan and Australia's Ministry of Sports and Levin, from the academy fees to his allowance.

Yeah, that sounds great. He'll be able to make new friends who share the same passion for soccer like his friends now, explore the sides of soccer that he has yet to see and more importantly, evolved into a stronger player.

But will he be able to leave his family and friends here in Japan?

Goenji let out a sigh. "I'm going to miss them." He whispered to himself.

"We'll miss you too." Goenji's eyes widened when the familiarity of the voice registered into his head. When he turned his head, he saw the smiling faces of his friends. Even Someoka was there too!

He stood abruptly and said, "W-what are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

"Well," Fuyuka entertwined her fingers in shyful manner. "I was at a new cafe at the town and then I thought I saw you. So I followed you and when I confirmed my assumption, I called Endou."

Endou nodded enthusiastically. "Yup! She's right! And then I call Kazemaru, who called Kidou, who called Sakuma, who called Kurimatsu, who called Kabeyama, who called Midorikawa, who called Hiroto, who called Toramaru, who called-" Natsumi covered his mouth with her palm, but the captain continued muffling against her palm.

"Anyway," Kidou took over Endou's role, "what we wanted to say for the past two days is that we support you whatever your decisions may be. We're your friends, and friends stay true and supportive. We want the best for you, and if choosing the best means for you to leave Inazuma Japan, then so be it. All we want is for you to be happy and successful."

Pushing Natsumi's hold on him, Endou said, "What Kidou's trying to say is that no matter how far we may be from each other, our hearts are still connected!" His usual grin plastered on his face.

Hiroto and Midorikawa exchange a knowing nod and pushed Someoka from behind until he's in front of Goenji. The dragon stiker tried to stop them by stepping into the ground as hard as he can, but two Aliea heads are better than one Inazuma head. When Someoka and Goenji's eyes met, Someoka turned away, his face flustered. Goenji stifled a laugh at the rare sight in front of him.

A hand was hold out by Someoka. Goenji stared at the hand, at then to Someoka, who was still looking away in embarrassment and awkwardness. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have beat you up and treated you like that. I...haven't really be a good friend, aren't I?" His voice cracked a bit at the last sentence. Shaking his head, Goenji shook hands with him and patted his shoulder. "No, don't say that. You're a good friend, Someoka, and I'll miss you and the others."

The next thing he knew, all of his friends circled him, giving him friendly hugs and encouraging pats on his back. A few of them, namely the girls, Fubuki, Midorikawa, Kabeyama, Kurimatsu and Toramaru had tears forming in their eyes and started to sob. Others had either look away or fix their gaze on the ground to avoid shedding tears. The scene unfolded in front of him touched his heart. His friends really care about him and are sad about him leaving the team.

Kidou hugged him and Goenji returned it. "Remember to take care of yourself. If you have any problem, tell Levin about it. You're in a foreign country, so you have no one to turn to there. None of us will be there to help you, but you can always come back, okay?"

"I'll remember that." Goenji said, now his own voice was breaking. Kidou smiled and broke the hug. Before Endou hugged him, Goenji swore that he saw Kidou taking of his googles and wipe his tears.

Endou grinned and pulled him into a hug. "We'll miss you a lot, Goenji. Promise me you'll keep in touch with your family and friends. It'd be interesting to receive e-mails from someone in Australia." Goenji laughed a little at the joke that Endou made. "Yeah I will."

The hug with Endou was the longest.

* * *

Somewhere near the gateway to the flight to Australia, Goenji stood in front of the group of people who had come to say their goodbyes and best wishes to him. Family and friends gathered at the airport to see him off. The plane to Sydney will take off in thirty minutes, so he estimately only had twenty-minutes left with them. A pat on the shoulder made him flinch and shifted his eyes to the man standing beside him. Levin had an understanding look in his eyes and said, "Go on. It's best if you say goodbye to them. You wouldn't be able to meet them for another two months."

Nodding his head, Goenji made his way to his family first. Now, Michiko and Fudou had become part of the family. Yuuka was the first to break down into tears and hugged his legs. "Nii-chan, promise me you'll keep in touch with me! You're leaving again, and I'll miss you again just like before!" The platinum blond smiled gently and ruffled his little sister's hair. He knelt in front of his sister and wiped her tears with the tips of his thumbs. "Don't worry, Yuuka. I'll send you lots of e-mails. I'll even attach a few pictures and videos if you want." Yuuka nodded her head and hugged him back.

Turning away from her, Goenji bowed to his father. "Thank you for allowing me to do this, Tou-san." Katsuya nodded grimly and surprisingly, embraced him like he had used to in the past. "You may be in another country, you may be a high school student, and in the future, a successful man with a great career and having a family of your own, but you'll always be my son. Remember that." Returning the hug, Goenji mumbled, "I will, Tou-san." Breaking the hug, he said, "I'll be back a week before the wedding."

Michiko was next. At first, he didn't know what to say to her. But the woman smiled warmly and hugged him too. "Come back safely, Shuuya. We'll be anticipating your return." After he saw his father nodding encouragingly at him, Goenji smiled and return her hug. "Thanks...mom." The last word that came from his mouth made Michiko's heart fluttering in happiness. Goenji Shuuya, her future husband's son, had acknowledge him as his stepmother.

"And you don't have to worry about Yuuka, Shuuya." Fudou started a conversation between them after his mother and Goenji ended their hug. "As her stepbrother, I'll keep an eye on her and ward off the mean boys, kay?" Their parents had encouraged them to call each other with their given them. The first time he called Fudou with his real name, Goenji had stammered helplessly. The case with Fudou was different. Surprisingly, Fudou had no problem calling him 'Shuuya'.

"That's great. Thanks, Akio." Fudou nodded his head and suddenly he seemed to remember something. He took a present wrapped with a bear-printed blue wrapper and a red ribbon on top. Goenji raised an eyebrow at the choice of the wrapper, and Fudou let out an exasperated sigh. "This is a present from me and Yuuka. She's the one who chose the wrapper and ribbon. We chose the present. I paid for the present. So take it with you." Goenji accepted the gift that has been shoved into his arms. "Thank you." Fudou didn't reply and turned his head away, acting a smug pose. "It's an MP3 player. You can put it on during the flight to avoid being sick. I heard some people with weak stomach throw up during flights."

"That doesn't sound pleasant. Let's hope the present comes in handy." Fudou smirked.

Fubuki and Toramaru hugged him at the same time. Both of them were sobbing sadly. "We'll miss you a lot." Toramaru chocked out a sob. "Don't you dare forget about us." Fubuki suddenly looked up and warned him with determination evident in his eyes. "I'll miss you too. And no Fubuki, I wouldn't." His answer satisfied them both.

"Here." Hiroto approached him with a present. This time, the wrapping had checkerboards of colours red, blue and green. The ribbon tied on it was yellow. "This one's from the forwards. Hope you'll find it useful." Fubuki and Toramaru nodded enthusiastically. Scratching the back of his neck, signing that he was shy. "Open it when you get into the plane."

After the forwards' farewell session, Kazemaru, Midorikawa, Tachimukai and Sakuma came near him. Kazemaru handed him a small box. "It might be small, but it's useful for the people who's not in their own country." He said and smiled warmly. Thanking them and hugging them for the last time seemed so unreal. He never expected that he'd leave his friends behind like this.

The defenders came after the midfielders. "This is for you, Goenji-san." Kabeyama said as he handed over the present, his eyes watering and lips quivering. Goenji smiled. He remember how lack of confidence the big guy was since the first time they met. Tsunami grinned teasingly. "Hey, maybe you can find a cute Australian girl there! Say hi to the girls for me!" He gave him a thumbs up. Goenji sweatdropped when Touko and Rika dragged him away. "It's hard to change a man with his mind filled with girls." Tobitaka said wisely. "Ushishishishi." Kogure made his trademark sound.

As if on cue, all girls huddled around him and giving him a group hug. Some of the boys whistled teasingly, courtesy of Fudou, Someoka, Tsunami and Kogure. A blush crept to his face, but Goenji didn't push them away nor returning their hug. "Take care, alright." Fuyuka advised him shortly. "And here's your present from us." Aki and Rika held up a a large, rectangular box wrapped with white wrapper of red hearts. "Thanks." Goenji whispered and took the present. Natsumi and Touko each gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. Haruna leaned forward and hugged him tightly. The blush now turned darker than ever when he saw Tsunami shot him a mischievous grin and Kidou crossed his arms, tapping his finger on his arm. He doesn't seem anywhere amused.

"Goenji." Endou called him. The ace striker turned and his eyes widened when a soccer ball was shoved in front of his face, blocking his sight. The captain grinned like he always have. "E-Endou?" Kidou let out a chuckle. "The soccer ball's a present from us. It has everyone's signatures on it." The strategist explained. Endou pushed the ball to his chest. "Here. See it for yourself." Goenji brought the ball closer to him and examined it. They were right. Everyone's signatures were on it! "It's for you to remember that no matter what, you're a part Inazuma Japan and will always be!"

"Thanks guys." Goenji knew he had thanked a lot of times already today, but he couldn't help himself. He was thankful and glad that his family and friends cherished him so much. He kept all of the presents in his luggage.

_Attention to all passengers. The flight to Sydney, Australia will be taking off in ten minutes. Please make your way to gateway number 4. Thank you._

"Well," Levin sighed, "time's up. Shuuya, we should get going now." Katsuya had agreed on the mentorship on one condition. That is Levin must be foster father. Thus, Levin started calling him 'Shuuya' too. Nodding his head, Goenji turned to his family and friends. "I guess this is goodbye then." He bowed deeply to them. "Thank you for the companion, support and kindness that you had given to me." When he looked up, he saw half of them already in tears. Goenji held back his tears that were threatning to fall.

"Hiroto." He called out to the striker.

The said person was caught by surprise. "Goenji?"

Clenching his fists, Goenji announced, "I leave the position of ace striker of Inazuma Japan in your capable hands." Hiroto's eyes widened largely. The others let out a small gasp. Now, he officially ascended from the throne of the one of the big three of Inazuma Japan, letting Hiroto taking his place. "You can do it. I trust you. The next time Inazuma Japan's in action, you'll be the ace striker." After he recovered from his shock, Hiroto nodded his head formally. "I'll do my best!" He promised and took Goenji's words to his heart.

Turning his attention to Kidou and Endou, he received approving nods from both of his best friends.

Endou gave him a thumbs up and said, "Sayonara, Flame Striker!"

* * *

I'm planning to make a sequeal, but it's still in progress. What do you think? R&R!


End file.
